How cancer treatment
can affect your heart

Only some cancer treatments affect the function of the heart. They may have an immediate effect on the heart or not cause heart problems until many years later. It’s very important to discuss the risks and benefits of your treatment with your cancer doctor (oncologist) before you start it.

The way that cancer treatments affect the heart depends on many factors, including:

The treatment and total dose of the treatment.

The age you have treatment. The risk is higher in older people or very young people. Children who have cancer treatment at a young age have a greater risk of developing heart disease later in life.

If you have risk factors that can affect the health of your heart. For example, if you smoke or are overweight. You can help protect your heart during treatment by choosing a healthy lifestyle.

If you already have a heart condition and have cancer treatment, you have a higher risk of developing further heart problems during or after treatment. Your doctors may not give you certain cancer treatments if they think they are likely to cause further damage to your heart.

If you have more than one cancer treatment that is known to affect the heart.

If you had previous cancer treatment that may have affected your heart and then you need further treatment that may also affect your heart. This could happen if you develop a new cancer or if your cancer comes back.

In this section, we list different cancer treatments that may have an effect on your heart. Talk to your cancer doctor if you’re worried about any aspect of your treatment. If your treatment has finished and you have concerns about your heart health, visit your GP. If you don’t remember the names of the specific cancer treatments you’ve had, ask your cancer doctor or nurse to give you a list of them.

Thanks

We rely on a number of sources to gather evidence for our information. If you’d like further information on the sources we use, please feel free to contact us on: bookletfeedback@macmillan.org.uk

All our information is reviewed by cancer or other relevant professionals to ensure that it’s accurate and reflects the best evidence available. We thank all those people who have provided expert review for the information on this page.

Our information is also reviewed by people affected by cancer to ensure it is as relevant and accessible as possible. Thank you to all those people who reviewed what you're reading and have helped our information to develop.

You could help us too when you join our Cancer Voices Network – find out more at: http://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancervoices

We make every effort to ensure that the information we provide is accurate and up-to-date but it should not be relied upon as a substitute for specialist professional advice tailored to your situation. So far as is permitted by law, Macmillan does not accept liability in relation to the use of any information contained in this publication or third party information or websites included or referred to in it.